Friday, September 01, 2017

Review and Giveaway: How To Save A Life (Howl At the Moon #4) by Eli Easton

Title ~ How to Save a Life (Howl At the Moon #4)

Author ~ Eli Easton

Published ~ 28th August 2017

Genre ~ Paranormal M/M Romance

Rating

Synopsis

Rav Miller looked into the terrified, intelligent eyes of the chocolate Labrador on death row, and knew he’d do anything to save him. When the dog, Sammy, escapes and heads to Mad Creek, Rav follows. Mad Creek. The town had become legendary in Rav’s mind after he’d met that bizarre group last year. Rav dismissed his crazy suspicions back then, but when he arrives in Mad Creek, he knows it’s true. Dog shifters exist, and apparently they all live in the California mountains. It’s enough to blow a bad boy’s mind.

Sammy has something in common with Rav—neither one of them trusts people. After Sammy’s abuse as a dog, he particularly dislikes tough-looking men like Rav. But when Sammy gets a chance to work with rescued dogs at the new Mad Creek shelter, his deep compulsion to help others overcomes his fear. Rav and Sammy bond over saving strays. If they can each find the courage to let someone else in, they might find their way to love.

Sheriff Lance Beaufort doesn’t like humans moving into Mad Creek, especially not the tattooed and defiant Rav. When Rav starts a rescue shelter, the town thinks he’s wonderful! But Lance isn’t fooled. He doesn’t buy Rav’s innocent act for one second. How much does Rav know about the quickened? What is his game? And why did he have to show up now, when Lance and the other town leaders are overwhelmed by all the new quickened pouring in?

Rav knows how to save a life. But can he save an entire town? Can he rescue Mad Creek?

Lisa’s Review

OH MY FUCK, DO I EVER LOVE AND ADORE THIS SERIES! SO HARD!

No pun intended….. ;)

How To Save A Life is the fourth book in Eli Easton’s Howl at the Moon series. I absolutely adore these books. This is a unique, sweet and hilarious M/M PNR-esque series that will leave you clutching your heart as well as howling with laughter. While the second book, How to Walk Like a Man, still remains my favorite of the series because of well….. Roman, I still loved reading this tale about a rebellious dog rescuer and a newly quickened young man. I will advise that it is best to read this series in sequential order. I feel like this is the best way to take in the awesomeness of what Ms. Easton has created here.

Rav Miller is a character that we have met in book three in the series as he played a prominent role in that storyline. He operates a no-kill animal shelter in Arizona and he is a human. Rav often goes to animal shelters that have high kill rates and are over populated and rescues the dogs that have a higher chance of meeting their demise. On one of his visits to a high-kill shelter he meets a sweet chocolate lab who is absolutely terrified.

Sammy has recently gained the ability to become human. In other words, he is newly quickened. He experienced a lot of abuse as a dog and is fairly gun-shy around rough looking men. This includes the bearded-man with kind eyes who saves him from the animal shelter. When Sammy makes his way to Mad Creek, Rav decides to follow, particularly since he met a few of the town’s strange residents the year prior. There Rav discovers that dog shifters do exist!

Rav and Sammy bond over their love of working with rescued strays. As the pair begin to spend more time with one another, they slowly begin to worm their way into each other’s hearts. Sammy needs time to learn what it is truly like to be a human. Is Rav the right person to teach him? Further, the highly suspicious town sheriff is not making things easy for Rav despite the fact that he has some wonderful ideas for the town.

I loved Sammy. Everything from his innocence to his pure heart had me smiling from ear to ear. He was so untainted and trusting and I just wanted to hug him! His need to belong and the fact that he wanted so desperately to help just added to his adorableness. Rav gives off this bad-boy persona; however, underneath it all he has a heart of gold. He could not help but get swept away by the sweetness that was Sammy.

I really enjoyed this sugary tale of love with little angst and moderate steam levels. Both characters were endearing and I could not help but root for their relationship. What starts off as a simple friendship between Rav and Sammy, blossoms into something more. It was a fine balancing act for both males as they attempted to navigate the bumpy road to a happy forever and truly discover just how much they meant to each other. Rav and Sammy both had a lot to learn but the more entwined they became with one another, the more the risk of falling in love seemed worth it.

All in all, this light-hearted romance that was a lot of fun to read. I loved being back in the town of Mad Creek and catching with all the crazy and quirky residents. I am definitely looking forward to more books in this delightful series. How To Save a Life is yet another adorable, engaging and well-written story by Ms. Easton. Definitely worth the read for all lovers of M/M romance.

Purchase Links

Howl at the Moon Series

Book #1: How to Howl at the Moon

The town sheriff, Lance, is all work and no play. He’s got a border collie’s obsessive focus on his job—protecting the town of Mad Creek—and has no time for love or family. When a young human named Tim moves into the area and acts suspiciously, Lance suspects the boy is trouble. Lance pretends to be a regular dog to get closer to Tim and figure out what he’s up to. Tim LOVES his new doggie, though, and Lance’s inner dog bonds with a human for the first time in his life. As Lance gets more attached to Tim he has to figure out how to make Tim love his HUMAN side.

Book #2: How to Walk Like a Man

Deputy Roman Charsguard survived Afghanistan where he lost his best friend—his K-9 handler James. Roman was a military dog until two years ago when he developed the ability to shift into a human. It’s not easy to learn how to be a man. He found a place to live in Mad Creek, a haven for the secret world of dog shifters. Finding a reason to live has been harder. That is, until a certain human walks into the Mad Creek Sheriff’s office and starts making trouble.Matt Barclay has the worst luck. First he was shot in a SWAT drug raid, then he was sent as DEA investigator to Mad Creek, a little town in the California mountains. Matt’s job is to keep a lookout for illegal drug farms, but nobody in the town wants him there. And then there’s Roman, Matt’s erstwhile baby-sitter. He’s the hottest guy Matt’s ever seen, even if he is a bit peculiar. If the town doesn’t kill him, sexual frustration just might.The town is counting on Roman to prevent Matt from learning about dog shifters, Matt’s counting on Roman to be his work partner and tell him the truth, and Roman’s trying to navigate love, sex, and a whole lot of messy human emotions. Who knew it was so complicated to walk like a man?

Book #3: How to Wish Upon a Star

Dr. Jason Kunik is working on the most earth-shattering genetics project ever, DNA mapping of a new species, the quickened—dogs who can shift into human form. The problem is, no one knows the quickened exist and Jason can’t betray them by publishing his studies. When he moves to Mad Creek to continue his research in a town full of quickened, all he wants is peace, quiet, and to be allowed to bury himself in his work. Perhaps if he figures how out the mutation is activated, he can silence his own inner dog forever.

Milo is a hospice comfort dog who has bonded with, and lost, many beloved patients in his life. He intuitively understands sickness and pain on a spiritual level most can’t see. When he gains the ability to become a man, he thinks he finally has everything he ever wanted. But being a man isn’t the same thing as being loved, and taking shelter in Mad Creek isn’t the same thing as finding a home.

When a mysterious illness hits Mad Creek and threatens all the quickened in town, it’s up to the scientist and the comfort dog to figure out what it is and how to stop it. Along the way they might discover that true love is possible—if you wish upon a star.

This is the third book in the “Howl at the Moon” series, but it can be read as a stand-alone.

Meet Eli Easton

Having been, at various times and under different names, a minister’s daughter, a computer programmer, a game designer, the author of paranormal mysteries, a fan fiction writer, an organic farmer and a profound sleeper, Eli is happily embarking on yet another incarnation as a m/m romance author.

As an avid reader of such, she is tinkled pink when an author manages to combine literary merit, vast stores of humor, melting hotness and eye-dabbing sweetness into one story. She promises to strive to achieve most of that most of the time. She currently lives on a farm in Pennsylvania with her husband, three bulldogs, three cows and six chickens. All of them (except for the husband) are female, hence explaining the naked men that have taken up residence in her latest fiction writing. You can email her ateli@elieaston.com